


that big epic tale of two grumps, aka demi's longass project she may not finish because she's a lazy sack of shit who never finishes things even though she really should

by gavorn



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: M/M, Multichapter, blame her, but a happy ending, it's all muffin's fault, so that's good, there will be drama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-19
Updated: 2013-08-29
Packaged: 2017-12-24 01:29:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/933533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gavorn/pseuds/gavorn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's all Muffin's fault.<br/>Muffin: omg you know what you should do demi<br/>Muffin: write those long ass fics that have like 20k~100k words<br/>Muffin: I've read so many of them and they're amazing because like<br/>Muffin: you get really attached to the story and you get to include so much character development<br/>Muffin: it's pretty surreal<br/>Demi: oh man i would love to<br/>Demi: just whenever i try to write long multichapter things i fail<br/>Muffin: and it could be like<br/>Muffin: pre-classic grumps [they're thinking it up and stuff], actual classic grumps [after they make that video announcing it and stuff], end of classic grumps [them fighting or smth], modern grumps [jon jealous and all that] and maaaaaybe a happy ending~?<br/>Muffin: aw<br/>Muffin: that'd make a huge ass story and it'd be perfect<br/>Demi: i maaay be able to<br/>Muffin: and you'd get to explode like the bromance ever since the very beginning<br/>Muffin: wouldn't that be niiice<br/>Muffin: I can be your beta<br/>Demi: i hate you i was supposed to be organizing everything onto ao3 AND NOW I WANNA WRITE DAMN YOU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. prelude [dr pepper & cookies day]

**Author's Note:**

> If you're reading this: There's going to be an updated, highly improved version posted. Soonish. Maybe.  
> This one's gonna be left up. Just. Don't read it. Seriously, why would you?

They fit together like puzzle pieces, to use an overused expression.   
They didn't always.

\--  
Jon does not tell his mother where he is going.  
She doesn't approve of this whole " _youtube"_ thing and _"What is that? Jonathan, are you posting pornography? You good-for-nothing-"_ \--  
Anyway, to get the point across, she hates it, and he knows that.  
She would even less approve of driving over to meet some random stranger from the internet, and that is a discussion Jon does not want to have, so he doesn't tell her.

Driving over Jon calms himself. _Be cool, Jon,_ he says out loud. An old man wrinkles his nose at him at the traffic light.

This is bigger for him than he wants to admit.  
Okay, maybe he kinda-sorta-maybe-just a little stalked ~~Arin~~ Egoraptor. He can't help it, ok? He's young and hormonal [god, he feels like he's still a teenager] and damn but ~~Arin~~ Egoraptor is just _really_ hot, ok? Like, _really._ God _damn_ , it really wasn't fair that he was hot and he liked the same games as Jon and he was really talented and 22 and 25 were practically the same age and wow, pathetic, Jon, be cool. Be cool.

He spends the entire drive trying to contain himself. Needless to say, it doesn't work very well.  
He is turning onto the street and thinking _This is his street_ and he is pulling into his driveway and thinking _This is his driveway_ and he is walking up the steps and thinking _these are his steps_ and knocking on the door and _this is his doorway this is his home he is right behind that door be cool Jon be cool_

Moments go by, and he is just beginning to panic when the door opens and Arin is standing there with a tray of cookies.  
 _He looks even better than in the pictures,_ Jon thinks reverently. He is so glad he brought Dr Pepper.   
"Hey," Arin is saying, and Jon stands there and stares for a second before remembering what is happening and yeah, maybe it's a little weird to stare like that, so he clears his throat and says "Hi, Egoraptor." [he's pretty sure his voice cracked a little. Did it? Shit, this isn't exactly the best first impression, he's going to think Jon's a weirdo and shit, they're going inside so he follows Arin while looking around the house and marveling.   
They end up in the living room, sitting awkwardly on the couch for a minute before they finally start talking.  
[they end up spending the rest of the day on the couch playing A Link to the Past. It is the best day of Jon's life.]  
\--


	2. game grumps [you can call me Arin, you know]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Consider this chapter one or chapter two. Whatever you want. It's about twice the length of chapter 1/the prelude.  
> Contains fluff and the beginning of the egotron. hey, it *is* a ship fic.  
> Questions? Comments? Money? Loljk well maybe? thatdemionfire.tumblr.com is the place to be, yo.

It is about three or four months after that first day when Jon gets the idea.  
"Ego," he says, leaning over the back of the couch as Arin ducks into the room with more food. "We should have a show."  
Arin doesn't even look at him as he flops sideways on the sofa. "You already have a show, you dork," he says.  
"Nooo," Jon huffs indignantly. "Like, together. It would totally be the shit!"  
This catches Arin's attention. "Would you-would you really want to?" he says. He sounds more confused than psyched, and Jon starts to doubt this was as good an idea as it was in his head.  
"Well, I mean..if you wanted to..y'know, forget it, it's a stupid idea," Jon says as he goes to unpause the game.  
Arin shakes his head. "Nah, wait, what kinda stuff would we be doing?" He sounds curious now.  
"Well...yknow..just, like, us hanging out and playing video games like we normally do, but posting it," Jon hesitantly says.  
"That sounds like it may actually work," Arin says, and he has the look on his face Jon knows by now means something big is about to happen. 

\--  
"Game Grumps," that's what they decide on. Neither one is sure where it came from when they wake up in the morning-pop rocks and empty cans of monster rolling everywhere from their late-night "brainstorming session".  
There is a scrawled list of random words written on a notepad. Jon assumes some are game titles, such as "aNMINAL CROSING" and "MEGMAN" and "POOKNOM" [he misspells things when he gets excited, alright?]  
Arin sits up rather groggily and rubs his eyes. "What the fuck?" he says when he sees "SUpER SMUSH BRAS" written on a scrap of paper.  
Jon can't help but laugh- he's in Egoraptor's living room, he is seeing Egoraptor all sleepy and morning-y and wow, that's a little creepy, he should probably try to get over that whole fanboy thing, shouldn't he.  
\--  
They start recording in the beginning of summer.  
Kirby Super Star is what they pick for the first game. Well, not really. They _play_ it first, and originally they were just going to post things out of order from recording before Jon says "Welcome to the first episode of Game Grumps!" and they go from there. 

It is a success bigger than they ever thought it would be.  
They are gaining subscribers by the hour. "Jon, c'mere," Arin says, gesturing at the screen where the numbers raise every time he refreshes the page.  
[there is a small part of Jon that is just shocked his stupid idea worked. He gets to play video games with fucking _Egoraptor_ and just have fun and people like watching it, for whatever reason.]  
"Yeah," he says, and there is a smile on his face so huge he bets he must look like some sort of freak [but he's so happy he doesn't care, this is everything he dreamed of and wanted and just _ugh, everything._ ]  
\--  
They keep hanging out, having fun.  
Jon thinks it's still a bit awkward. He doesn't mind, though.  
He keeps it professional. Can't let ~~Arin~~ Ego think of him as just some fanboy. [ _be cool, Jon, be cool._ ]  
They're sitting on the couch between recording episodes when he slips up.  
"So, Arin, how many episodes of-"  
He realizes what he said and freezes. "Shit, shit, um, Ego, I mean, yeah-" [he is just digging himself deeper, he thinks, so he freezes and hopes they'll just never mention it again.]  
Arin is watching him with a half-amused expression on his face. "'S fine, man," he says. "You can call me Arin if you want."  
"Okay, A-Arin," Jon says hesitantly.  
\--

It has been about three months since Grumps became a semi-success, and they are hanging out almost every day now.  
Tonight they have gone to a barcade somewhere in downtown, and Jon has made the mistake of drinking much, much more than he should.  
It's cold outside the bar, too cold, Jon doesn't like cold, he likes warm, and then he is stumbling on the pavement.  
"This place SUCKS!" he says, and he was thinking it but somehow it fell out of his mouth but oops, oh well, it's true.  
"Jon..." Arin says as he helps him get into the car.  
Jon flops sideways onto Arin's lap once they're in the car. Suzy says she's getting a ride with Ross and Barry, so it is just the two of them.  
"I have to drive, you know," Arin says. He doesn't sound upset, though. He sounds like he's smiling only Jon can't tell because his eyes keep falling shut. Jon is happy about that. He hates when Arin is upset, he really does, and oh, they're driving, and he giggles and tries to tell Arin " _It's ok, I'll stay still and you'll be able to drive fine_ " but the words come out mangled and slurred enough Arin probably can't tell what he is saying.  
Jon's eyes are open now, though he's not exactly sure he remembers opening them. He is looking up at Arin.  
Arin is pretty, he thinks. "You're pretty," he says.  
Arin snorts a little. "Keep telling yourself that," he says, and they're pulling into Jon's driveway and _noooo,_ Jon doesn't want to be by himself, so he complains until Arin takes him back to Arin's house. He doesn't remember much after stumbling in the door but the next morning he wakes up with his shoes off and one of Arin's t-shirts on.


	3. beginning [you don't like me, do you?]

"You love me anyway," Jon laughs as their character dies for the millonth time, bouncing off the screen and exploding. Arin rolls his eyes.  
"Maybe I do."   
Jon glances to the side and tries to keep from blushing when he realizes what he heard. He can't call attention to it as they're recording, leaving him to just think of it over and over again.   
" _Maybe I do_ " runs through his mind late that night, and he can't sleep so he stays awake torturing himself with it.

He's tried to get over his weird little crush since he started, yknow, actually _knowing_ him. He's kept those thoughts in the farthest, darkest part of his mind, tried to act like just any friend. It was hard sometimes, really. He was doing the best he could. But of course Arin was one of those overly-affectionate types, and he was always just laughing and hugging and _there_ and okay, maybe Jon was crushing like a thirteen-year-old girl. 

_"Maybe I do."_ It is three words, simple words, average words. It doesn't mean anything, really, doesn't it? Does it? Maybe it does. Maybe it doesn't. Maybe Arin knows about his crush..thing. Maybe he's making fun of him or something. Maybe he hates him, yes, there was something cold and awful about the way he said it, something shadowy and dark in his eyes and Jon has fucked up again, he has fucked up bad   
He sits up in a cold sweat.   
Jon does not normally think this way. Really.   
[the only thing that gets him to sleep is finally just setting up a playlist on youtube he keeps just for nights like this. he falls asleep to the sound of arin's voice.]  
\--  
Jon is not a weepy drunk, but he is that night.  
"You don't like me," he says, because he's thinking it and his filter disappeared somewhere around three or so drinks ago. "You don't like me, do you?"  
Arin just sits there, staring at Jon, with something in his eyes Jon can't figure out [he's drunk, okay? give the man some slack. not that he could tell when he was sober, either, but that's something else.]  
Arin does not respond, and Jon assumes he's correct.   
"You don't like me," he repeats, and he can almost feel himself deflating like a balloon. "You really don't like me," he says again, and he should probably think of something else to say but he can't.  
"Jon," Arin says, and it sounds like there's something else there in the word he refuses to say.   
"You don't," Jon says again, and his mouth is a little numb and he's saying the words without meaning to.   
Arin sighs. "Jon, I just-" [Jon's eyes are huge, reflected in the barlight.] "I like you, ok?" he says, standing up. "Let's get you home."  
And so they go home. [this time Arin does not even try to make Jon go back to his own apartment. Jon passes out on Arin's bed within seconds of getting inside. He looks so peaceful there, almost well, cute, and Arin doesn't have the heart to move him so he just lets him be and sort of curls up around him.]  
\--

Jon does not remember any of it, of course.  
Everything is the same, really, except for how Arin looks at Jon just a bit differently when he thinks he can't see. Jon pretends not to notice and wonders what the fuck he did. [maybe drinking is a bad idea, really, considering that's the second time he's gotten shitfaced and woken up in Arin's bed.]

They are between recordings when Jon casually glances to the side and suddenly Arin is kissing him, eyes closed, mouth open.  
This is what goes through Jon's mind.  
 _ARIN ARIN  
Arin is kissing me  
Arin is kissing me  
This is a dream, it has to be  
Arin  
Arin  
Okay, wow, he's a really good kisser   
Arin is Arin is kissing me is Arin_  
Jon is shellshocked for a minute until he realizes what is happening. After that they kiss for god knows how long [could be five minutes or an hour or a day or a week or a month or forever]  
Jon isn't sure when they separate, but he sits there, hyperventilating, watching Arin's little smirk out of the corner of his eye. "I-you-" he starts a couple times before giving up. Arin leans towards him. "Jon-you okay?-I..."  
He's blushing a little now [Jon cannot believe this is happening, really. Arin is blushing, as if he did something wrong, as if he could ever.]  
It is silent in the Grump Room for what seems like an eternity. Jon is getting ready to drop to the floor, crawl out, and never show his face again when Arin breaks the silence.   
"You wanna-" "Yeah."


	4. perfect [it's like some fucking cyclone of wonderful]

This is the third time Jon has slept in Arin's bed, but it is different this time.  
Suzy is at some sort of fashion con, so they are in no hurry to get up.

Jon stretches lazily, legs tangled with Arin's, arms across his chest.   
"Morning," Arin says sleepily, eyes blinking open and adjusting to the morning sunlight. Jon glances at him, eyes wide, hair fluffy and mussed. He almost looks like he's having an internal crisis and Arin sighs a little and sits up before wrapping his arms around him.   
"Arin?..." 

It is hesitant and quiet, like a reaffirmation that Arin is still there.   
"Yeah," he says, breathy and light, quiet enough Jon almost doesn't hear it.   
Jon makes a little humming noise, which Arin takes as invitation to snuggle him closer. He closes his eyes.

\--  
They sit down to coffee at Arin's kitchen table. Jon doesn't know what to do with himself, so he sort of wraps his fingers around his mug and fidgets.   
It is quiet and stiff, and Jon finally thinks _Fuck it, this is not right_ and starts talking.  
"So, I, um..."  
Arin glances at him. He looks almost amused. "Yeah?"  
"Weeell..." Jon says weakly. He is almost speechless, which is a strange occurrence for him. "I, ah..and you.."  
Arin rolls his eyes. "Your point being?" And Jon's throat is tight and his voice is weak and finally he just stumbles out "Why?"  
"Because I like you," Arin shrugs. [That is one of the things separating Arin from Jon. When Arin wants something, he gets it.]  
Jon starts to say something, but thinks better and closes his mouth.   
\--

Things stay the same between them for the most part.  
Oh, there are differences, of course. Arin is even more unabashedly affectionate; Jon actually _lets_ Arin be affectionate; and, well, that was about it.  
Suzy heard about it after the first few days, when she got home. She was excited about it, really [she was used to how Arin was and had been picking up on the UST for months. This was a relief, honestly.]   
Barry noticed quickly as well. Jon and Arin weren't sure when he figured it out. Probably somewhere between when they were cuddling asleep on the couch and when he had to edit makeouts out of an episode. 

Ross discovered it when they were all watching a movie together. Jon was passed out on Arin's lap, and Arin leaned down and kissed him on the forehead.  
Ross stared at them, back and forth from one to the other, jaw dropped. "Ohhhhhh.." he said finally, and Arin threw a pillow at his head.  
\--

It is wonderful, is what it is.   
It is first dates and hand-holding and kissing in the rain and not sleeping alone [the only way Jon can think of to describe it is "It's like some fucking cyclone of wonderful".]  
He hasn't been the best with relationships, but this is different somehow, because it's him and Arin and that's all that matters. It occurs to him once that this less like a relationship, really, and more like what it has been all along, what it _should_ be, because anything else would not be right.

\--  
This is what they decide:  
They will not tell the fans.  
They will tell their friends.  
They won't try to hide it, because that would be even more likely to let people know something was off. 

"Next time on Game Grumps...Arin makes out with me," Jon says, because he is high on adoring and being adored and not thinking about what will happen after this. Arin sticks his tongue out at him before tackling Jon to the couch and doing exactly that.

Barry finds the audio while editing and [sighing] asks Jon if he should remove it. "Nah," Jon says, shrugging. It should make the shippers happy, anyways, and god, how right they are. 

That night he mentions it to Arin, and they laugh for about an hour about how the fanbase will go nuts, constructing different theories about the audio.  
After that, they go to bed, and it is a tangle of limbs and skin against skin. When they finally sleep both are out almost immediately, snuggled closer together than is humanely possible.  
It is perfect.


	5. fallout [don't call me that]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and the shit hits the fan

Suzy kisses Arin when he walks through the doorway.  
It is a simple gesture, completely average for an engaged couple. Nothing more than PG, only lasting a couple seconds.  
It leaves a nagging worry in Jon's head.  
He shouldn't be jealous.  
Arin is Suzy's first and foremost, and he's known and accepted that the whole time they've together.   
He shrugs it off, pretends to be fine. He would never be jealous of Suzy, nothing that stupid, he knew what he was getting himself into.  
[He is jealous anyways.]

It is when they are planning the one million subs surprise that things begin to go down.  
They plan to have a new show on the channel, for Ross and for Danny, who recently moved nearby. For computer games, maybe.   
It will be amazing and everyone will love it.   
Their one year anniversary is coming up as well. The show's, that is. Not theirs. They plan on celebrating just the same. 

\--  
Jon is catty and jealous and stupid.   
That is why he throws hissy fits and complains and gets upset every time Arin is busy. There is a voice in his head saying that he is being clingy and awful and this won't end well if he keeps it up. He couldn't agree more.[He can't make himself stop, though.]  
 _Arin would be better off without you_ , the voice whispers, and there's a nauseating feeling in the pit of his stomach that tells him it's true.   
Arin has been a wonderful boyfriend.   
He takes Jon on dates and buys him dinner and kisses him when he's sad [Jon doesn't deserve him, he really doesn't.]  
\--  
"You still like me, right?" Jon says hesitantly. Arin stares at him incredulously before saying "Of course I do, you dork" and kissing him to reassure him.  
Jon is not reassured.  
He pretends he is, of course, but people lie all the time, god knows he does. Arin could be laughing at him right now for all he knows. [he isn't, of course, not that Jon knows that.] 

Arin hates him, really he does, he must.  
Jon hasn't done anything but be absolutely awful. Arin doesn't need him around, really. Jon should just leave or something.  
\--  
"I'm leaving," Jon says, heart pounding in his ears. He wishes he could take it back already.  
Arin looks at him. His smile is gone. "What?" he says, like he didn't hear it, even though he did.   
"I'm leaving," Jon repeats. Everything seems ten times louder. There is pure silence in the room, and he wishes he could look away from Arin to stop having to see that horrible broken look in his eyes like Jon killed a fucking puppy or something.   
"Why?" Arin says, and the broken is in his voice too.  
"You don't need me," Jon says numbly. There's a ringing noise in his ears now, and Arin's eyes have changed again. There's something cold and dark Jon has never seen before, and it makes him wonder if this could actually be his same Arin [ _Not my Arin,_ he thinks. _Not mine because I can't have him._ ]  
"If you're leaving then go," Arin says, and suddenly they're screaming at each other.  
"I don't fucking want this, you know," Jon is saying. The words come out much harsher than he meant.  
"If you don't want this than why are you still here?" [Jon has never seen Arin this upset before. There is a twisted kind of feeling in his stomach because he did this, this is his fault]  
"Arin, I don't want to-"  
"Don't call me that." [it's like a punch in the gut.]  
"My friends call me that," he continues.  
"Arin," Jon says, because he's falling apart and that may be the only word he is capable of saying.  
"Get out." Arin says, then "If you're leaving then get out."  
Jon stumbles out the door and ends up in his car crying not sure how he got there.  
\--


End file.
